Hat box



April 1, was

Filed May 6, 1963 A- J. WEISS ETAL HAT BOX 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ARTHUR J. bUass &- VINCENT AADAMs ATTOREYS rifl w, 19% A. J. WEISS ETAL 3945,73

HAT BOX Filed May 6, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS AeTuulz 3. UJmss & \lmcau-r AAoAms ATTORNEYS Aprili 19, 1966 A. J. WEISS ETAL HAT BOX 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 6 HI I INVENTORS United States Patent 3,246,738 HAT BOX Arthur .1. Weiss, Bergenfield, Ni, and Vincent A. Adams,

Pearl River, N.Y., assignors to Continental Can Compani Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New or r Filed May 6, 1963. Ser. No. 278,139 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-8) This invention relates to a new and novel hat box and more particularly to a one-piece body for a hat box which includes a hat tier.

It is old in the hat box art to make a hat box of three separate pieces. A first piece is used to form a top, a second piece is used to form the body of the box and a third piece is inserted into the body of the box to provide a spacer or divider partition which holds the hat in a centrally spaced position to prevent damage thereto.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hat box which is formed from only two pieces of material. One piece of material is used to form a conventional box top and the other piece of material is used to form a novel box body which includes a bottom, four upstanding sides and a hat tier which is integrally connected with one of the sides.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hat boxwhich comprises a bottom and four upstanding sides, locking flaps connected along a top edge of three of the four upstanding sides, a tier panel connected along the other of the four sides and being disposed below the locking flaps, locking tabs connected to the locking flaps and be'mg received within openings in the tier panel to lock the sides to the tier panel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a onepiece blank for forming the body of a hat box comprising, a rectangular portion including a bottom panel and four side panels, locking flaps on three of the four side panels and a tier panel connected to the other of the four side panels.

Another object of this invention is to provide a onepiece blank for formingthe body of a hat box wherein the tier panel has a peripheral length which is substantially equal to the peripheral length of the bottom panel, an opening centrally of the tier panel for receiving the crown of the hat, locking tabs on the locking flaps, and means on the tier panel for cooperative engagement with the locking tabs.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a hat box which is formed from paperboard, heavy paper, plastic or other similar materials.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claimed subject matter and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a one-piece blank for forming the body of a hat box and shows a large rectangular portion which is divided by pairs of longitudinal and transverse fold lines to form a bottom panel, tour side panels, and a dust flap at each corner of the rectangular portion for separating the adjacent side panels. The figure also shows locking flaps attached to three of the four side panels and the tier panel connected to the fourth side panel and being provided with means for cooperative engagement with the locking flaps.

FIGURE 2 shows the one-piece blank in a partially folded and collapsed position.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a body of a box in a partially erected condition which body is formed from the one-piece blank which is shown in FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a completely erected box body and a lid for closing the box body.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 4, and shows locking tabs on the locking flaps being disposed through openings in the tier panel so as to hold the body of the box in its erected position.

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal sectional view, taken on line 6-6 of FIGURE 5, and shows the underside of the tier panel.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 5, and shows the tier panel as being recessed downwardly within the body of the box.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a one-piece blank, generally indicated by the numeral 10, for forming the hat box which is shown in FIGURE 4 and is generally designated by the numeral 11.

The one-piece blank 10 includes a large rectangular portion, generally indicated by the numeral 12, and a tier panel 13 which is connected to the rectangular portion 12 by an offsetting panel 14. The rectangular portion 12 includes a bottom member 15 which is defined by a pair of transverse fold lines 16 and 17 and a pair of longitudinal fold lines 18 and 19. A first side panel 20, a second side panel 21, a third side panel 22 and a fourth side panel 23 are connected to the bottom panel 15 along the fold lines 16, 17, 18 and 19, respectively. The rectangular portion 12 further includes a substantially rectangular dust flap 24 at each corner thereof and each dust flap 24 is provided with an oblique fold-and-score line 25.

A plurality of locking flaps 26, 27 and 28 are attached to the second side panel 21, third side panel 22 and fourth side panel 23 along fold lines 29, 30 and 31, respectively. Each of the locking flaps 26, 27 and 28 is provided with a pair of locking tabs 32. I

The offsetting panel 14 is connected to the first side panel 20 along a transverse fold line 33 and is connected to the tier panel '13 along a transverse fold line 34. An elliptical opening 35 is provided in the central portion of the tier panel 13 for receiving the crown of a hat (not shown) therethrough. A first side flap 36 is connected to the tier panel 13 along an interrupted longitudinal fold line 37. The fold line 37 is interrupted by a pair of ofiset severance lines 38 which provide openings 39 in the tier panel 13 (as is shown in FIGURE 6) for cooperative engagement with the locking tabs 32 on the locking flap 27. A second side flap 49 is connected to the tier panel 13 along a longitudinal interrupted fold line 41. The fold line 41 is interrupted by a pair of offset severance lines 42 which provide openings 43 in the tier panel 13 (as shown in FIGURE 6) for receiving the locking tabs 32 which are on the locking flap 28. A glue flap 44 is connected to the tier panel 13 along a transverse interrupted told line 45. The fold line 45 is interrupted by a pair of otfset severance lines 46 which provide a pair of openings 47 in the tier panel 13 (as is shown in FIGURE 6) for receiving the locking tabs 32 which are on the locking flap 26.

The hat box 1 1, which is shown in FIGURE 4, is erected from the one-piece blank 10 which is shown in FIGURE 1. Glue, or other suitable adhesive, is applied to the otisetting panel 14 and to an area 50, of the first side panel 20, which corresponds to the area of the offset- .ting panel 14. Glue, or other suitable adhesive, is also applied to an area 51, of the second side panel 21, which corresponds to the area of the glue flap 44. The blank 1% is folded along the transverse fold line 33 such that the offsetting panel 14 overllies and is adhesive-1y secured to the area 50 of the first side panel 20. The blank 10 is then folded along the transverse fold line 17 and the area 51 of the second side panel 21 is adhesively secured to the glue flap 44.

After completion of the above described gluing and folding operations, the blank has been changed to the shape illustrated in FIGURE 2. This is the shape of the blank 10 as it is normally supplied to the customer. All gluing operations have been completed and the blank 10 is ready to be erected into the hat box body 11, which is shown in FIGURE 4.

As is best illustrated in FIGURE 3, the first side panel 20 and the second side panel 21 have been raised to a vertical position by being folded along the fold lines 16 and 17, respectively. The locking tabs 32 on the locking flap 26 have been inserted into the openings 47 which have been formed in the tier panel 13 by the severance lines 46. Each of the four dust flaps 24 is then folded inwardly along its respective score-and-fold line 25 and the side panels 2 2 and 23 are raised to a vertical position by folding along the respective fold lines 18 and 19. The hat box body 11 is then completed by folding the locking flap 27 along the fold line 30 and inserting the locking tabs 32 into the openings 39, and folding the locking flap 28 along the fold line 31 and inserting the locking flaps 32 thereon, into the openings 43 in the tier panel 13.

The hat box body 11, as is shown in FIGURE 4, has the tier panel 13 recessed downwardly therein. It is apparent that a hat (not shown) may be placed in the hat box body 11 by passing the conventional crown of the hat through the opening 35 and resting the brim of the hat on top of the tier panel 13.

A lid, generally indicated by the numeral 60, is provided for covering the hat box body 11. The cover or lid 60 which is illustrated in FIGURE 4 is of a conventional type which is old and well known. Therefore, it is unnecessary that the specific construction of the lid 60 be described.

While a preferred form of a new and novel hat box has been shown in illustrating the invention, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in details and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:

A hat box comprising a rectangular bottom panel and four vertically upstanding side panels, locking flaps connected along a top edge of at least first and second ones of said upstanding side panels which are disposed parallel to each other, said locking flaps being folded inwardly and downwardly from the top edges of said first and second side panels, a tier panel connected along a third one of said four side panels by an offsetting panel and being disposed within said hat box and below said locking flaps, locking tabs connected to said locking flaps and being received within openings in said tier panel to lock the first and second side panels to said tier panel, said oifsetting panel being adhesively secured to said third one of said side panels such that said tier panel is positioned within said hat box and disposed below the top edges of each of said four upstanding side panels and parallel to said bottom panel, said tier panel having an oval opening centrally located for receiving the crown of a hat, said oval opening being oriented with its major axis disposed substantially along a diagonal of said hat box, a fourth side panel being provided with a locking flap and locking tabs, said tier panel having openings formed therein adjacent to said fourth side panel, and the locking tabs of said fourth side panel being disposed therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 520,314 5/1894 Sherman 206-4519 927,485 7/1909 Brown 229-311 1,748,256 2/1930 Tinsley 206-4519 1,851,217 3/1932 Stern 206-8 2,303,264 11/ 1942 Flick 206-4519 2,591,500 4/1952 Bloomer 229-361 2,758,781 8/1956 White 229-34 2,843,307 7/1958 Goltz 229-34 2,904,238 9/ 1959 Perry 229-40 2,939,622 6/ 1960 DPpolito 229-39 2,944,719 7/1960 Arneson 229-311 2,960,149 11/1960 Throssel 229-34 2,965,279 12/1960 Campbell 229-34 3,095,240 6/1963 Donahue 206-4519 3,095,086 6/1963 Berg 206-4519 0 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

THERON E. CONDON, Examiner. 

